This method increases Limit Strength (1 Repetition Max), Power and Hypertrophy all at the same time. How your write the program is the determinate factor in which of the "Strengths" listed is emphasized.

Cluster Sets are similar to High Intensity Training. Short duration, high power movement that magnify force production.

Cluster Sets elicit the same training effect when it comes to increasing Strength, Power and Hypertrophy.

The Research

Cluster Sets: Repetitions in a Set that are broken down with short rest periods between individual Repetitions, one Rep (Inter-Repetition Rest Clusters) or rest periods between sets of Repetitions, two to six Reps (Intra-Set Repetition Clusters).

Rest periods between each single Repetition or Set of multiple Repetitions in the Cluster are about 15 to 45 seconds. Approximately, 15 seconds of rest allows for up to 79.7% of ATP (fuel for intense exercise of 30 second or less) to be restored to muscle.

ATP restoration allows for greater force production, which engages a greater percentage of the Type IIa (Fast) and Type IIb/x ("Super Fast) Muscle Fiber that are responsible for Strength, Power and Hypertrophy

Number of Repetitions and Amount of Rest In Cluster Sets

The determine factor for which "Strength" is being trained (Limit Strength"/1 Repetition Max, Power or Hypertrophy) is dependent on the number of Repetitions in each Cluster Set and the length of the Rest Periods between each Repetition or set of Repetitions in each Cluster.

Speed and Power or Muscle Contraction

1) Each Repetition in all sets needs to be an explosive movement, which engages/works the Fast and "Super Fast" Twitch Fiber.

2) All Repetitions MUST be explosive during the Cluster Set. If at any point, the bar or movement decreases...STOP!

Below, is the Cliff Notes that examines how explosive (fast) eccentric actions as well as explosive concentric contractions engage more Fast and "Super Fast" Twitch Muscle Fiber.

According to a study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, lowering the weight slowly may not be the best way to increase muscle mass and strength. ... the group who trained with fast eccentric contractions had the greatest increase in muscle hypertrophy. Muscle hypertrophy of the type IIB fibers (fast-twitch fibers) increased from 6 percent to 13 percent in those subjects. The ‘slow’ group did not experience any gain in muscle mass.concentrically?

In order to induce hypertrophy, either the exercise intensity or volume must be increased.

Moving the weight at a higher speed implies using more power, and more power translates directly to a higher intensity. Speed training provides an alternative path to the progressive resistance principle, which states that in order to induce muscle hypertrophy, one has to constantly keep increasing the weight used.

According to world-renowned strength coach Dr. Verkhoshansky, the tempo of resistance exercise has a significant effect on the development of muscular strength (because of fast-twitch fiber enhancement).

...the amount of force you generate during weightlifting can be increased by lifting more weight or lifting the same amount of weight at a faster speed. If you are performing the same number of reps with the same amount of weight but lifting with more acceleration, you are producing more force— and this means larger central nervous system activation. ...The more motor units or muscle fibers that are activated in a repetition, the greater the activation in the central nervous system. This represents an increase in training intensity.

... fast explosive exercises, faster-twitch motor units are activated and more hypertrophy can occur. Hypertrophy will only occur in those muscle fibers that are overloaded, so that fast-twitch fibers must be recruited during training for hypertrophy to occur.6

In competitive athletics, when all other factors are equal, power is the deciding factor between winning and losing. The ability to generate concentric and eccentric force over a range of contraction velocities is often a critical determinant of athletic success.

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